in honor of whatever mario-related brain terrorism nintendo drops on us tomorrow morning, i want to make sure as many people on the planet as possible are aware of this making-of teardown of a mario-branded kraft mac & cheese commercial from 1994. you're welcome.
I thought this was lost from the internet, as the YouTube video I used to link to for it disappeared some time ago. Since it is online after all, you should definitely watch it now.
This is genuinely one of my favorite behind the scenes videos of all time, and not just because of the wild voiceover narration (the actual gross morph bite is my least favorite part of the ad, narrator aside). It’s a great combination of so many types of media all mashed together in a super slick collage of the type you just never see anymore. Another notable entry in this genre: The opening credits for (and really entirety of) Space Ghost Coast to Coast. But this weird old Mario mac and cheese ad sort of has Space Ghost beat because literally every element of this was made for the ad. I love seeing all the weird-ass miniatures, the practically shot puppets and upside down couch, the elaborate keyframe animation, the early CG, all really tightly composited together with a bunch of what look like painstakingly handmade mattes.
It’s obviously unexciting that it’s ultimately a Kraft mac and cheese ad, but I bet the people who made this were so damn hyped.
